Kono's Return
by CallenHotchMcGarrettFan
Summary: Kono returns to the island and 5-0 only to find that she has been replaced by Catherine and that Steve had given her badge to his girlfriend. Will she be able to find her place in the team again and how will her relationships with her fellow team mates change?
1. Prologue

Hawaii Five 0 Fanfiction

Steve/Kono

Romance, Drama, hurt/comfort

Kono returns to the island and 5-0 only to find that she has been replaced by Catherine and that Steve had given her badge to his girlfriend. Will she be able to find her place in the team again and how will her relationships with her fellow team mates change?

 **Author's note: This is my second Hawaii five-0 fanfiction. It will involve all of the characters but will mostly focus on my OTP McKono. I hope you enjoy it and I would love some freed back so please review. Not entirely sure how long this will be but I hope you all stick with me and this story. Already miss Mckono and it's only been one episode**

 **Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own H50 or anything that is associated with the show. It all belongs to CBS and the creators. Although Alex would be an awesome gift I wouldn't say no to.**

 **Prologue:**

She walked up the stairs headed for 5-0 headquarters one last time. She was hoping that none of her team mates had decided to come in early today. She stopped outside the glass doors and took a deep breath, then pushed it open before stepping inside. She breathed a sigh of relief as she didn't see anyone else. She slowly made her way across the room stopping next to the smart table, smiling lightly as she remembered all the times she had stood in that exact spot rattling off information and how many times Danny had gotten frustrated when he couldn't get the damn thing to work. She shook her head with a sad smile on her face, she needed to stay focused. She lightly ran a hand over the table before heading to her office, correction former office. It hadn't been hers in a long time. Being forced to share with Catherine and noticing how the former Naval Intelligence Officer had pretty much taken over the room, didn't make it feel like hers anymore. She stood at her desk, tears glistening in her eyes. She shook her head willing them away. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted, she made her decision and so had the rest of them. She pulled out a box she had placed under her desk a few days before and began putting what little stuff she had into it. When she was done she walked out looking once more behind her. Her next and final stop before she left 5-0 behind her was Steve's office. She hesitated at the door before pushing forward. She had to do this. Standing in front of his desk she balanced the box against her hip while grabbing an envelope out of her back pocket. "I'm gonna miss you boss," she whispered feeling the tears begin to fall. She turned and fled out the office and out the building, refusing to look back again.


	2. Chapter 1

**4 MONTHS EARLIER:**

"Room for two more?"

Everyone at the table turned to see Kono smiling at them and Adam standing at the door.

"Cuz," Chin who was the first to recover walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I missed you." He slowly let her go before turning to Adam and held out his hand which the latter gratefully accepted. "Thank you for keeping her safe."

Adam shook his head, "It was all her." He looked at Kono giving her a small smile which she returned.

"Okay, my turn." Danny, "Danno" Williams replied coming closer before hugging his friend," Welcome home babe."

Kono couldn't help but smile at the New Jersian. "It's good to be home."

One by one each of the house patrons hugged and welcomed back their fellow friend leaving just one.

Steven J McGarrett was not a man who showed his emotions but for some reason when he saw Kono standing at the door, all he wanted to do was run up to her and hold her so tight, never wanting to let her go. He would be a liar if he had said he hadn't been effected by her sudden departure. He had missed her, more than he cared to admit out loud. Yeah it had been easy to put a mask on so to speak and to keep his thoughts on what needed to be done, but when he was alone and had some time to think, his mind would always drift to her. She was his friend and team mate but there was a part of him that wanted more. He berated himself for such thoughts and mentally cleared his head as he saw her look at him with a huge smile on her face.

"Can I get a hug?" she asked.

"Of course," he smiled in return before hugging her. As he hugged her he couldn't help but tighten the hold on her waist and couldn't help but inhaling her scent. It was one of the many things he had missed while she was gone. He held on slightly longer than necessary before stepping back and looking at her face. "It's good to have you back. We missed you." She gave him one of her charming smiles that showed off her dimples to the fullest. In that moment, he wanted desperately to kiss her but two things stopped him from doing just that, Catherine and Adam. He was with Catherine and Kono had Adam, although he seemed to pick up on a little tension between the couple. Maybe he was just over thinking things? "Welcome back Adam."

"Thank you, Steve."

"So, who's hungry? Course I'm starving."

"Danno, you're always hungry," Grace replied smiling at her father.

"I wouldn't say I'm always hungry," he replied dragging his daughter towards the table loaded with food.

Slowly everyone followed except Kono. Steve stopped and turned back, "Hey, you alright?"

She looked up at him, something in her eyes that he couldn't quite place before letting a small smile appear. "Yeah, I'm good."

He stepped a little closer, "You know whatever it is, you can tell me." She nodded.

"You two coming?" Kamekona asked. "Shrimp is good."

Kono took one more look at Steve and nodded slightly before walking over to Adam. Steve watched her walk away with a feeling of unease forming in his gut. Something was wrong with his rookie.


	3. Chapter 2

Several hours later they pulled up to her house. Adam turned off the engine and reached for her hand as she started to get out. "Are you going to continue to ignore me?"

"I'm not ignoring you Adam."

He scoffed, "No? you haven't said a word to me since…."

"Your question?"

He nodded before continuing, "You barely look at me anymore Kono."

"Look I don't know what you want me to say Adam."

"Kono, I asked you to marry me. Either you do or you don't. Now I know you asked me for some time but it's been days since then and nothing. Any other guy would assume the answer is no by now, but I know you Kono. I know you need time."

"Adam," she pulled her hand free from his. "I can't just jump into marriage like nothing happened."

Adam looked ahead with a sigh, "How many times do I have to say that I'm sorry? I made a decision, one I thought would make things better."

"For who? You or me?" anger sparked in her eyes as she looked at him.

"I didn't know you would get hurt."

"You left me! Surrounded by Michael's men and you didn't think I would get hurt?" Kono opened the door. "I can't do this!"

"Kono…" Adam reached out for her hand but she moved away, climbing out the car and slamming the door. With a sigh Adam climbed out too... "Okay, it's been a long couple of days. Let's just get some rest and talk about this in the morning."

Kono turned to face him, "There is nothing to talk about Adam. I told you I can't do this anymore."

"Are you talking about this conversation or us?"

"I don't know. Maybe it would be better if we spent some time apart," she replied sadly.

Adam stepped closer, a sad look on his face. "What happened to not wanting to be apart?"

She looked at the ground as she felt the tears stinging the back of her eyes. "You left me," she repeated in an almost whisper. It was loud enough that he heard her and his heart sank. He didn't think she would ever forgive him. He silently watched as she unlocked her door and went inside, not even sparing him a second glance. He got back in his car and slammed his fist against the steering wheel. He still believed he had made the right choice at the time and he had been honest with her when he had said he didn't think she would get hurt. But a part of him now believed that that decision may have just cost him the most important thing in his life.

Over the last few days sleeping had become an issue for her. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was a replay of Adam leaving her surrounded by a bunch of Yakuza. He had said he'd come back for her and that it would all be okay but three days went by before she saw him again. A lot can happen in three days. Looking at the clock, seeing it was just after four, she threw the covers off knowing she wasn't getting anymore sleep. She grabbed some water from the kitchen before heading to the living room and sank down into the couch, mindful of her injuries. She grabbed the remote and put on some random show. She wasn't really interested in what was on as all she wanted was a distraction from the nightmares and from Adam as well. It didn't help, no matter how hard she tried to focus on something else, she kept going back to her talk with Adam. She loved him, she had no doubt about that but part of her knew she wouldn't be able to trust him again. You can't have a relationship without trust. When he had proposed several things had crossed her mind. One of those been the feelings that Adam had been scared, scared he had almost lost her and now he was making rash decisions. The other being; and it had taken her a long time to admit; Steve. She had always had a bit of a thing for him but knew nothing would happen. She was okay with that because she loved Adam and Steve was her friend. But the thought of marrying Adam brought fresh feelings. Was what she felt just a little crush? How would Steve react? Did she want to spend the rest of her life with Adam? Which was now the question she couldn't help but ponder on. Part of her said yes but part said no. For once in her life she didn't know which part she needed to listen to, which only added to her frustration. Her phone rang pulling her out of her head and she quickly rushed to answer it.

"Still awake cuz?"

She smiled hearing Chin Ho's voice. "How'd you guess?"

"Took a chance."

"Why are you up so late?" she asked.

"Got a case. Young couple were just found murdered."

She got up searching for some clothes, "Where? I'll meet you there."

"Hey cuz, no. I didn't call for that. You've had a long few days. Just rest and we'll see you later. I just…. wanted to check on you and see if you're okay. You seemed a little off earlier."

"I'm okay, just a bit tired like you said. But I had some rest and I'm good to go. You sure I can't help over there?"

Chin chuckled, "I'm sure cuz. We have it covered. Steve and Danny are with Max. Catherine and I are about to interview some witnesses. We're good."

"Wait," Kono stopped in confusion, "Why is Catherine interviewing witnesses?"

"Oh, that's right you don't know. She's part of Five 0."

"She is?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah Steve gave her a badge few months ago." Kono frowned, she had assumed that at some point down the line they would have gotten someone to take her place, but she hadn't thought they'd do it so soon and with Catherine replacing her. Kono liked Catherine, she was like a sister to her and she knew that the former Naval Intelligence Officer could handle herself but she had no experience when it came to police work. "Hey, listen I have to go, but I'll see you later. Okay?" Chin replied when she didn't answer.

"Sure, thanks for checking in." She put the phone down and found herself lost in her thoughts once more. Why had Catherine replaced her? Why had they replaced her so soon? Was she so easily replaceable to them?


	4. Chapter 3

"Hey, you okay babe?" Danny asked his partner.

Steve stood up from his hunches where he had been looking at the bloody shoeprints. "Danno I'm fine. Just trying to concentrate. Maybe you should try doing the same."

Danny held his hands up in surrender, "Just asking. You seemed to be spaced out lately. You've been distracted ever since…ever since Kono came back."

Steve looked shocked, "Kono? What does she have to do with anything?"

"Oh, I don't know, ever since she left you have been stressed out and been like a caged animal. Then thankfully you settled a bit, until today that is. Now you're once again stressed and broody."

"I'm stressed because we have two dead bodies and you're breathing down my neck about…Kono?"

"Okay, okay. Don't need to go all Navy Seal on me."

Steve took a deep breath and put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Your concerned, I get it Danny. But I'm fine, I just want to catch the animal that did this."

"Understood."

"Hey guys?"

Steve and Danny turned as their fellow partner approached. "What we got Chin?" Steve asked.

"One eyewitness says he saw a dark green four door truck leaving seconds after the gunshots went off. She got a partial license plate number. It's not much but it's a start. I'm gonna head back to HQ, see if I can get anything on the car."

"Okay we can head back too. We need to wait for the tests to come back.

When Kono entered HQ a few hours later, she couldn't help the huge smile that appeared on her face. For the first time in months she was finely home. "Hey guys," she smiled brightly as three of her favourite boys turned to look at her.

"Welcome back cuz."

"Just a small question, are you ready to be back?" Danny asked.

Kono frowned, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged, "Just want to make sure. You were on the run for months and you had to defend yourself." He paused pointing to a bruise that was still visible on her upper arm.

"Danny, I'm fine. Bruises fade almost as quickly as they appear. Besides if boss man over here can still kick ass with a broken arm, a few bumps and bruises can't stop me."

Chin and Steve smiled as Danny threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay! Don't shoot me just because I care."

She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek lightly. "Mahalo Danny."

Danny blushed slightly. Steve on the other hand felt something in his stomach and felt his fist clench tightly, something that didn't go unnoticed by his Jersey partner. Danny suppressed a grin and filed the actions away to use at a later stage.

"So, what do we have?" Kono asked.

Chin walked across to the computer. "Young couple on vacation from the mainland were shot and killed early hours of this morning." He put up pictures of a young man and woman. "Nicholas Devigne and Clara Sanders, both twenty-four-year-old students at Stanford University."

"Do we have any leads?"

"Well, we're hoping Chin might have something on the car?" Steve asked looking up at the older man.

"Actually, I do. I managed to track down the vehicle. A green Ford Ranger registered to a Matt Lancaster. He reported it stolen two days ago. Said he came out of work to find it gone from the parking lot."

"Please tell me there are cameras?" Danny asked.

Chin smiled at his friend. "There are. We got a look at the man or should I say kid who stole the car. Running facial recognition now. Hopefully we'll get a hit."

Steve's phone rang, "McGarrett." He listened for a minute. "We're on our way."

"What is it?" his partner asked.

Steve sighed, "Another double murder. Kono, you stay here and see if we get a hit on our car thief."

"Okay."

"Let's go."

"Great," she groaned as she watched the guys head out. "Well at least I get work again." Just then the computer dinged indicating a match. "Well hello Luka Halawo." She reached for her phone before deciding against it. She could run down this lead herself. The others were busy and besides the file said Halawo was a kid. Just nineteen years old. She could handle him. She quickly jotted down his address and headed for her car.


	5. Chapter 4

"Duke, what do we have?" Steve asked as they approached the older HPD officer.

"Same as the last one. Young male and female both shot. Looks like the same guy."

"Or woman. What? "Danny shrugged, "I'm just saying. It is 2014."

Steve stared at his partner, a slight hint of amusement on his face before returning his attention back to Duke. "Any IDS on our victims?"

"Yes," Duke flipped open his note book. "George Jenko and Selena Michaels. Drivers licence says they are from Vancouver."

"Another set of tourists. What do you think we're looking at? A local who has a thing against tourists?"

"Not sure Detective Williams. But it sure seems to look that way."

"Hello gentlemen," Doctor Max Bergman, who was looking over at the bodies called them over.

"Hey Max, what do you have?" Steve asked.

"Well as you can see Commander both victims were shot in the back of the head. Just like the previous two victims. However, this time the killer seems to have left some type of mark on them. See here," he pointed to the base of the neck just under the hairline. "It looks like a puncture mark."

"Could they have been injected with something?" Danny asked.

"It's quite possible, however the first two victims didn't have these marks or anything in their systems. I will definitely run some toxicology tests on them."

Steve looked up as Chin approached, "Hey a witness says he saw the exact same car parked on the street just before the gunshots."

"Did he see anyone?"

Chin nodded, "Two guys. A young male early 20's. tall, black hair and Asian. The other was an older man, Caucasian, maybe mid 30's. also tall with maybe brown hair. He says it looked like they were having some sort of argument before the young man headed over in this direction while they older man got into the car. It was a few minutes later that the witness heard the gunshots."

"They must be our guys. Chin have HPD put out a bolo on the car. Also see if the witness is able to sit with a sketch artist." Chin nodded and made his way over to Duke.

"What do you think?" Danny asked him.

"A team would explain the difference in the victims' death."

"One guy kills the first two victims and then what? He gets his partner to kill the others?"

"I don't know Danno. Right now, it's the only thing that happens to make sense."

"Great, if one killer wasn't bad enough."

Steve, who didn't have a reply for that headed to the car. "Let's see if Kono got a match."

Danny silently followed him and got in.

Kono stopped her car just outside a small house that had clearly seen better days. Something began to plague her, it was if something was off and if she knew anything, it was to trust her instincts. She reached into her back pocket for her phone and quickly texted her cousin her location. Better that someone knew where she was just in case things went bad. She slowly made her way to the house, raised her hand and knocked on the door. An elderly woman answered.

"Hello."

Kono smiled, "Hello Auntie, I'm Officer Kalakaua with 5 O," she held up her badge. "I'm looking for luka Halawo?"

"My grandson is not here right now."

"Do you know where I can find him or when he'll be back?"

The older woman shook her head, "He left a few hours ago with one of his friends."

A noise came from the back of the house. "Are you sure he is not here?" Kono asked already knowing the answer. She spotted the young man just as he made a dash for the back door. Kono gave the old woman a quick look before chasing after him.

"Luka is a good boy. He didn't do anything."

Kono ignored her as she started catching up to the kid. He crashed through the door and headed straight for the fence, jumping he grabbed the top and was about to make his escape when Kono grabbed him and yanked him down. "Stay down and put your hands-on top of your head."

He easily complied but just as Kono was about to place the handcuffs on him, the kid rolled over and took a swing at her, connecting with her face. He flipped himself up and pulled out a pocket knife. "This the best 5 O can offer?"

He rushed at her but Kono expected it and easily kicked him in the nandaplums sending him to his knees. She kicked away the knife that had fallen from his hand and quickly handcuffed him before wiping away the blood that was falling from her nose. "Maybe next time don't be so cocky." She roughly hoisted him to his feet and dragged him to her car before throwing him into the back before heading to HQ.

"What happened? "Catherine Rollins asked as Kono walked in.

"Had a run in with a suspect. He's down in the interrogation room now. Thought Steve and Danny might like to have a word with him because he sure isn't talking to me."

"Who is he?"

Kono pulled up his photo. "Meet Luka Halawo, the kid who stole Matt Lancaster's truck. He seems like a bit of a smart ass."

Catherine looked at his picture then back at her friend and nodded. "So, I've been meaning to ask, how are you?"

"I'm good."

"And with me joining the team?"

Kono smiled, "I think it's great. By the way I'm sorry about Billy. Chin told me what happened."

"Thanks."

Kono and Catherine made small talk before the three men of Five O arrived. "Kono, did you…..." Steve stopped what he was saying. He stepped closer to her and tilted her chin so he could get a better look at her face. A small shiver ran down her spine. She wasn't entirely sure where it came from." What happened?"

"Luka Halawo."

"Who is that?" Chin asked as Steve continued to hold her.

"We gotta match on the kid who stole Lancaster's truck. He has a record for robbing a convenience store last year. I went to his house to talk to him and he tried to run."

"Where were you when this happened?" Steve asked turning his attention to his girlfriend.

Catherine gave him a look that said she didn't like his attitude. "I just got back from talking to Nicholas Devigne and Clara Sanders' parents. They arrived about two hours ago."

Steve turned back to Kono, something unreadable in his eyes. "Who backed you up?"

"No one," Kono remarked curiously. "I went by myself."

Steve let her go and stepped back crossing his arms with a serious look on his face. "You went without backup? What were you thinking?"

Kono put her hands on her hips and did not flinch at the tone of his voice. "I was thinking that I might ask the kid a couple of questions and hopefully he may know something about our killer. I was thinking I would do my job."

"Do you remember what happened the last time you decided to go without backup? You got shot!"

"Okay that was different. What is your problem?"

"Me?" Steve asked.

"Yes! You! Is this really because I went there without backup? Or is this because **I** went there?"

"What? This isn't about you. This is about you making risky decisions without so much as letting anyone know where you were going!"

Kono stepped closer and began to poke him forcefully in the chest. "I told Chin where I was going. If you're done being an ass maybe you would like to go and talk to Luka who is currently waiting in interrogation. It's obvious he is hiding something!" Kono fumed before walking past him into her; correction; hers and Catherine's office slamming the door, rattling the glass. _"Who the hell does he think he is?"_ she thought as she sat at her desk.

Chin excused himself and headed to his own office. He knew that both his cousin and his boss needed some time to cool down. Catherine gave Steve a quick look before disappearing out of the room not wanting to deal with him. Danny and Steve were left alone and Danny had a strange look on his face.

"What?" Steve asked him, knowing he was about to receive one of Danny's infamous lectures.

"Nothing," Danny replied.

"Come on man it must be something, just spit it out."

"Don't you think you were a little harsh with her?"

"Danny, she took down a suspect, by herself."

"Yeah, something she has done plenty of times before."

"That's not the point."

"No, it's clearly not the point. Something is wrong with you. Yeah, okay so there normally is something wrong with you daily. But today it just seems worse. You need to figure out what it is before you alienate your friend." Danny left Steve and made his way to Kono's office. He gently knocked on the door.

"Hey Danny."

"May I come in?"

"Sure," Kono replied.

"About McGarrett…"

"I don't want to hear anything about Steve. You gave me "he's a Neanderthal and he didn't know what he was saying" speech before. But I already know what it is."

"You do?"

"Yeah, he doesn't trust me anymore."

"Kono," Danny tried to speak.

"No Danny, just…. he hasn't trusted me since I got on that boat with Adam. He thinks I made the wrong choice."

Danny stood silently not knowing what to say. "I think, I think maybe you should give Steve some time. It's been a while since we've all been a unit and I think he got used to not having you here. He needs time to get used to you being back."

"Can't be that hard, seems to me he got used to having Catherine around pretty quickly."

Danny placed a hand on her shoulder, "It wasn't easy when you left Kono, for any of us. We had to wait to hear from Chin if he had heard from you. It was tough, especially for Captain America out there. You know what a control freak he can be."

"I get it Danny, but it wasn't exactly a picnic for me out there."

"I know, Kono."

"No Danny, you don't. You can't imagine what I went through," she replied with a pained expression on her face.

Danny looked at her closely, "Kono what happened over there?"

Kono shook her head as she got up. "It doesn't matter. Listen I appreciate you coming to talk to me but I've got to meet Adam for lunch. I'll see you later." She smiled at him and lightly touched his shoulder before heading out.

Steve watched as Kono left, passing by his office without sparing him a glance. Danny saw a look of hurt cross his friend's face and knew then that something needed to be done.


	6. Chapter 5

"Thanks for meeting me," kono said to Adam as she reached the table.

"Of course. I was actually surprised to get your call." Adam smiled as he stood waiting for her to sit.' The waiter appeared as they both had sat down. "Just a water for me. Thanks," Kono replied.

"No lunch?" Adam asked as the waiter left with their order.

"Not really hungry I guess."

"Kono is everything okay?"

"What do think Adam?" she asked sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm trying here!" he replied a little louder than he had intended.

Kono sighed, "I didn't come here to fight Adam."

"Then what do you want?" he asked.

Kono waited to reply as the waiter returned with their drinks. Once he left kono began to explain why she had asked him to meet her. "I've thought about things long and hard."

"You mean us?"

Kono nodded, "When you left me…." she paused taking a deep breath trying to calm herself as memories began to surface. "When you left things got bad. Really bad."

"Kono…." began adam. But kono held up her hand.

"Please let me finish what I have to say." He nodded and motioned for her to continue. "I went through some things, things I don't want to talk about. Adam, you left me out there to fend for myself and even though I can forgive you, I honestly cannot forget."

"But you forgive me?"

She nodded, "However…I'm sorry Adam, but I can't trust you anymore."

"KOno," Adam reached out to take her hand but kono pulled away. "Are you saying that its over?"

"I am. If I can't trust you, how can we have any kind of relationship?"

Adam pushed away his coffee, "Is that the only reason or is it just an excuse to cover up the real reason?"

"What are you talking about?" kono asked in surprise.

"I'm talking about Mcgarrett. I saw the way you looked at him once we got on the ship. Like you were waiting for him to give you a reason to stay."

"I can't believe you!" kono fumed standing up. I was tortured. While you ran and left me behind I had to defend myself against Michael who tortured me. Your brother! But all you seem to care about is being jealous over a guy who not only happens to be my boss and a friend but is also in love with someone else." Kono turned to leave but turned back once more. "I loved you Adam. Giving up my life, my job, my ohana to go on the run to China with you, that should have been enough to prove that." With one final look kono turned and walked away from him, just as he had done to her four months ago.

Chin Ho was a little worried about his cousin. She had seemed different since she had gotten back from China. He supposed that was normal for someone who had been running for her life for four months. But Chin had a feeling that Kono was hiding something, something big. He watched as she came back into the office and he could tell that something was wrong. He got up from his desk and made his way over to the office Kono now shared with Catherine. "Knock knock. Is everything okay?" he asked before noticing her eyes were slightly red, like she had been crying."

She waved her hand as if to brush it off. "I'm fine Chin."

"Really?" he asked unconvinced as he sat down opposite her. "Then why have you been crying?"

Kono sighed, "Adam and I are done."

"You broke up?" Chin asked not entirely unhappy about it. The only reason he had put up with Adam was for Kono's sake. She nodded. "What happened?"

"Chin I don't want to talk about it."

"What did he do Kono?"

"I broke up with him Chin. I don't trust him anymore."

"Why?"

"Please can you just drop it? I don't want to talk about it."

Just as Chin was about to reply, Danny walked over and stuck his head in the door. "Luka Halawo gave us a name," he frowned slightly seeing the tension on his friends faces. "Is everything okay? I didn't interrupt something important, did I?"

"No!"

"Yes!" Kono and Chin responded respectively.

"Okay, well maybe you two can sort it out later. McGarrett wants us to gear up. Doesn't want to take any chances with this guy," Danny replied watching the cousins.

Chin closed his eyes for a second then stood up. "This isn't over Kono," he said before moving past Danny and out the door.

Kono pinched the skin between her eyes and sighed before getting up as well.

"Everything okay Kono? Cause you know if you need to talk."

"Thanks bro, but I'm fine. Chin and I, we just had a little disagreement. Nothing we haven't dealt with before."

"You sure?"

She nodded putting on a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Come on Jersey, didn't you say we had a pert to catch?" she slanted past him leaving Danny shaking his head.

"Women."

"Okay, listen up guys." McGarrett called getting everyone's attention. "We know nothing about this guy, so we need to be careful. We go in hot. Danny and I will take the front. Chin, you and Cath take the back. Lou, you have SWAT move in on my command."

"Where do you want me Boss?" Kono asked.

"I need you to wait here."

"Why? I told you I can handle things." Kono protested.

"I said wait here. That's an order Kono! Let's go."

Kono watched as the others headed for the house, none of them sparing her a second glance. She saw Duke send her a look of sympathy. _"Why am I even here?"_ she wondered.

She heard Steve give the order to breach when she heard gun fire. Whoever was inside had been expecting them.

"Keoihle is on the move!" she heard Chin say over the comms. "He's headed out back."

"We can't let him get away," Steve yelled over the gun shots.

"Trying here!" Chin yelled back.

Kono started towards the house deciding to ignore Steve's order. Suddenly a car burst through the garage door heading for the street. Without hesitation Kono changed direction and jumped into Chin's SUV and gave chase. "I got Keoihle. He is in a red Impala headed South toward Oahu. I'm right behind him."

"Kono, back off slightly We're right behind you. Let HPD take the lead." Steve sounded in her ear.

Kono groaned in frustration, "Let me do my job McGarrett!"

"Kono," he warned.

"NO, stop talking. I'm trying to catch a killer." Kono pulled the piece from her ear in irritation. "I'm a good cop." She continued to follow Keoihle as HPD patrol cars come into view. As she got closer she could see that they were headed for a populated area. They needed to end it and soon. She made her decision, she pressed her foot flat against the accelerator. She was catching up when a truck pulled out in front of her. "Dammit!" She threw the car into reverse before making her way around the truck, but Keoihle was gone. She pushed the comm back into her ear. "I lost him."

She heard Steve groan on the other end, "Head back to HQ and start running the footage. Find that car Kono!"

"Yes sir!" she replied with a clip to her tone. She once more pulled the comm from her ear. "This is getting ridiculous." McGarrett was really pushing her to breaking point and with everything she had been through, that was saying a lot. She reluctantly turned the car around and headed back.


	7. Chapter 6

Danny found Kono standing over the computer table, furiously running through camera footage. He could see that she was mad but when she looked up to see him, he saw something else in her eyes, something he couldn't put his finger on. He smiled at her and noticed once more that hers didn't reach her eyes. "You got anything?"

"Working on it. There's a lot of footage to go through."

"Want some help?"

"That would be great."

He walked over to stand next to her and began to work. "Are you okay?" he asked looking at her.

She nodded, "I'm fine."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her. "Kono, you can talk to me. I told you that before."

"And I appreciate that Danny. But I can't."

"Why?"

Kono closed her eyes felling tears at the back of them. She took a deep breath willing them away.

"Babe, talk to me."

Kono was about to say something just as Steve and Catherine decide to show up. "Did you find him?" Steve asked.

Anger came back to Kono. "No, I haven't. if you gave me a minute I'll tell you."

He turned to her, "Well maybe if you had done what I asked you to do, then he might be in custody right now!"

"Excuse me? If I hadn't followed him, we wouldn't even have a place to start looking. So maybe you should back off."

He stepped towards her anger evident in his eyes.

Catherine took it upon herself to break it up. "Steve, Kono was only doing her job. Kono why don't you take a break. Get some fresh air."

"I need to find Keoihle."

She touched her friend's shoulder, "Take a break Kono, I'll carry on."

"I told you, I've got it," Kono replied trying to reign in her anger. She didn't need Catherine to come in and take over any more than she already had.

"Take a break Kono!" Steve stated in a way that let her know wasn't asking.

Kono threw her hands in the air, "Fine, do what you want." Kono walked out as the others watched her go, each with a different feeling in mind.

Danny turned to his partner and gave him a dirty look. "What Danny?" Danny just shook his head and followed after Kono.

"Was that really necessary?" Catherine asked him.

"Catherine, all Kono has been doing since she got back is disobeying my orders"

"Ridiculous orders."

"Excuse me?"

Catherine sighed, "You heard me. Steve, I know that you were worried about her, we all were. But she's home now and the girl can still kick ass. She can do her job Steve."

"I know that Catherine."

"Then what is your problem?"

Steve turned away. "Just find Keoihle. Please."

"Steve," Catherine grabbed his hand before he could leave. "Do you….do you have feelings for Kono?"

Steve turned back to look at her. "I love you Cath, why would you even ask that?"

"I know you love me, but you dint answer my question. Do you have feelings for her? Because when she left you changed."

"Changed how?"

"You were on edge. Always trying to find out is she was okay."

"She's my friend Catherine," Steve said.

"I know that, but now she's home and you keep trying to keep her out of harm's way. The way you have been acting doesn't sound like you see her as just a friend."

"Catherine, I'm done talking about this. We have work to do." With that Steve walked away but not without a thought. Did he have feelings for Kono?

"Kono? Wait up."

"Danny please just leave it alone. I just need some air," Kono said looking at him. "Could you tell Chin I'm gonna take the rest of the day off? I'll call him later."

Danny nodded watching her walk away. She walked to her car and climbed in. She had an idea, it had been so long since she had been able to surf. Space from McGarrett and the idea of hitting the waves was just what she needed to bring a small smile to her face. She started the car and headed home.

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" Danny asked storming into Steve's office.

Steve shook his head, "Not now Danny."

Danny sat down opposite him. "What is wrong with you?"

"Daniel!" Steve warned.

"No Steven!" he glared back. "Kono didn't do anything wrong. In fact, she didn't do anything that you yourself wouldn't have done."

"That's different."

"How?"

"She's been out of the game Danny."

"What about the time when you disappeared to Japan looking for Shelburne?"

"I was working."

"And Kono? What was she on some island get away the last four months?"

"That's not what I meant."

"No, of course it's not." Danny replied sarcastically.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Steve asked accusingly.

Danny sighed, "I just think that when it comes to Kono you have a different set of rules and standards."

"I do not." Danny looked at him doubtfully. "Okay maybe I do but she is a rookie. I've had years of training."

"She was a rookie five years ago. I don't know about you but I certainly think she has proven herself." He got up and headed for the door, he turned back to his friend. "Cut her a little slack Steve. She's a great cop. Fix things before one of you does or says something that can't be undone."

As she sat on her board waiting for the right wave, Kono finally felt at peace, like she was home. She didn't have run or constantly look over her shoulder. She was happy. The only thing that was ruining her peace and happiness was Steve. Kono shook her head, "I will not waste a beautiful day trying to analysis Steve's behaviour." She took a deep breath and took in the water. She smiled for the first time as she saw what looked to be the perfect wave. She paddled out and prepared herself. Slowly as the wave approached Kono stood up on her board and allowed the water to lead her back to shore. She couldn't stop smiling as she ran out of the water, stuck her board in the sand and rung out her hair.

"Kono?"

She turned to her left and saw Kamekona walking towards her. Feeling self-conscience, she quickly reached for her towel and wrapped around her. "Hey Kamekona, howzat going?"

"Good, good Sista. You?"

She smiled, "Fine."

"How come you not working? No bad guys to catch?"

"Taking a break. Couldn't very well pass up the chance to catch some waves on a day like this."

He nodded with a smile, "True. You must come by. Have some new recipes I wanna try out."

"Sounds great," she replied hesitantly. She liked Kamekona but he didn't always have the greatest taste when it came to new flavours. She remembered his attempt with adding spam to his recipe and it made her stomach turn.

Kamekona looked at her with a confused expression. "What happened to your shoulder?"

Kono looked down and saw that when she had shuddered her towel had slipped slightly and exposed a scar running along her shoulder. "Oh bru. This is nothing just slipped and cut myself on some rocks after I got back. Was so excited to back into the water." Kono pulled her towel a little higher and grabbed her board. "Listen I should head back. I'll…I'll stop by sometime, try the new recipes." She forced a smile and rushed off not, not even stopping as Kamekona yelled goodbye to her retreating form. She had just lost her feeling of peace and happiness.


	8. Chapter 7

"I found him," Chin stated solemnly as he entered the bullpen.

"Who?" Catherine asked.

"Aaron Keoihle."

"Great work Chin. Where is he?" Steve asked.

"In the morgue." The others looked at him questioningly so he continued. "HPD found his body less than an hour ago. He was in an accident. Hit and run."

"Someone wanted to kill him?"

"Looks like it. Just came from the crime scene. Looks like Keoihle had been there to meet someone as there were two sets of tyre prints as well as footprints. Whoever was there with him decided to push Keoihle's car off the cliff. HPD is going over everything with a fine-tooth comb."

Steve ran a hand through his hair, "This doesn't make any sense."

"I thought Keoihle was the last guy. We have Halawo in custody," Catherine stated.

"Yeah, but remember one of the witnesses said they saw a Caucasian man in his mid to late thirties," Lou replied.

"Neither Keoihle nor Halawo fit that description."

"So, we still have killer out there who seems to be tying loss ends. But why kill his partner?" Danny asked.

"Well, the second victims had been injected with something and the witness said the two men had been arguing. Maybe our guy thought Keoihle was getting sloppy," Chin replied.

"Whatever his reason, we need to focus on finding this guy before any more bodies show up. Chin I want you to go see Max, find out if he has the results of the tox screen. Lou and Catherine, I want you to go back to Keoihle house. Go over it again, see if we missed anything." They both nodded before heading out.

"Steve, George Jenko and Selena Michaels parents just landed," Chin said.

"Okay, Danny and I will go see then," Steve looked around. "Kono not back yet?"

Danny was the one to answer, "She's taking the rest of the day off." Steve raise his brow at that. Danny put his hand. "I think she needs a break and more importantly from you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You haven't exactly been the nicest person around her."

Steve glared at him before he answered, "What exactly do you want me to say Danny? She's been off her game."

"Really?" Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Let's just go and talk to the parents. Kono will back tomorrow."

"Fine!" Steve made his way out followed by Danny who had a deep, thoughtful look on his face. He was going to find out what was eating at his partner.

One of the hardest parts of the job, was always talking to the families of the victims, particularly when the victims were young. "Mr and Mrs Jenko, I'm Commander Steve McGarrett with the 5-o task force. I'm very sorry for your loss."

The grey-haired man gave a crisp nod of his head as he held his wife's hand as she cried. "Commander, do you have an idea who did this?" Nicholas Jenko asked.

"We're working on it Mr Jenko. We have a few leads we are considering. Could you tell me anything about your son? Did he have any enemies, people who hadn't liked him for any reason?"

"No!" Sarah Jenko spoke up for the first time. "George was loved by everyone. He was kind and thoughtful. And I know what you are thinking, I'm his mom so I'm just biased. But it's true, you can ask anyone."

"Mrs Jenko, I'm sure it's true but you need to understand that we have a job to do. We have to ask these questions."

Her husband nodded, "We understand Commander. It's just…."

"We know Sir," Danny replied. "Is there anything you can tell us about his relationship with Selena?"

"Who?" Sarah asked.

Danny and Steve shared a look before Danny replied, "Selena Michaels, your son's girlfriend."

Sarah Jenko looked confused, "George didn't have a girlfriend named Selena. Detective, my son was gay."

"Jenko was gay?" Chin asked surprised. "I just spoke to Selena Michaels' family and they confirmed that the two had been seeing each other for the last year."

"None of this makes any sense," Catherine remarked. "Do we even know if this is relevant to the murders?"

Steve ran a hand through his hair, "I'm not sure. Chin, Lou do you guys remember if our other victims' families mentioned anything strange about their children's' love lives?"

"Nothing other than both families confirming a recent engagement," Chin answered.

"So, what do we do now?" Lou asked.

Steve sighed, "For now let's focus on finding anything we can that can link Keoihle with any one suspicious. Let's concentrate on that, we can figure out what George and Selena's relationship has to do with it."


	9. Chapter 8

The next morning Kono woke up feeling refreshed and ready for anything. She was hoping that a certain Commander had woken up on the right side of the bed and wasn't in a mood. She was contemplating how she was going to get through this day when her phone rang. Picking it up, a smile broke out on her face. "Hey Cuz." No matter how frustrated he could make her, Kono could never stay mad at Chin for too long. They were Ohana after all.

"Howzat cuz? Wanted to check on you before work."

Kono thought about her answer for a second. "The truth, I've been better but it's nothing I can't handle."

"And McGarrett?"

"What about him?"

"Can you deal with him if he goes off at you today?"

"Don't really want to think about it to be honest. Just want to focus on the case."

The line was quiet for a minute before Chin replied, "Okay. Just remember that the last few months haven't exactly been easy, for any of us Kono."

Kono pinched her nose and closed her eyes willing the annoyance away. Nobody understood what she had gone through, yet they all seemed to think that it had been some sort of vacation for her. She said as much to Chin.

"Well, maybe if you talk to us then we would better understand."

"I hear what you are saying, but I just don't want to talk about it. Listen I need to get ready for work. I'll see you in a little bit."

"But…" Chin never got a chance to finish before she ended the call.

She knew exactly what he'd do if he knew what happened in Japan and she couldn't live with Chin being a murderer.

"Good morning," Danny smiled as she walked into the room.

"Hey Danny. Where is everyone?"

"Catherine and Steve are having breakfast and Chin is on his way, said he had to stop by HPD first."

She nodded as Lou walked up to them and pulled her into a big hug. "We missed you yesterday."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just needed to get some air. Guess I just forgot how hectic this job can get."

"Happens to the best of us. Anyway, that was Max on the line. The tox results came in. It appears our victims had a blood alcohol level three times the limit but it wasn't from alcohol."

"Then from what?" Kono asked.

"Trilisperin, apparently it's a drug that mimic's the effects of alcohol. Suppose to be some sort of date rape drug. It also incapacitates you, which would have allowed someone a chance to kill you. Though I'm not sure why the killer needed to do that seeing as how he shot them, "Lou replied.

"Hey guys," Chin walked in quickly and stood at the smart table. "HPD found some prints at Keoihle's house that matched the hit and run scene."

"Any ideas who it belongs to?  
"Charlie's running them through every database right now." Chin pulled up a screen and Charlie Fong's face came into view.

"Hey guys, good timing. Just got a hit on your prints. They belong to a Jean Phillipe Renard. Twenty-five-year-old French National."

"Chin typed in the name pulling up the info. "Says here, he arrived on the island three years ago on a student visa. Got a cell number, pinging it now." Each of the members of 5 O waited patiently for the number to give a location and were quickly rewarded, "Seventh and Hawala."

"Let's go." Kono was ready for action.

"I'll let Steve know from the car," Danny replied as they headed out.

"Let's do this," Kono was ready to prove to Steve once and for all that she was ready to be back.

Danny and Kono climbed into the Camaro while Chin and Lou got into the SUV. The ride was quiet but not in a bad way. It reminded her of all the times she and Danny had partnered up before Japan. It felt good. "So, how's Adam?" Danny asked tired of the silence.

"Don't know."

"You don't know? Don't you guys live together?"

"Not anymore. Adam and I broke up."

Danny threw a quick glance in her direction. She didn't return it. "I'm sorry." He looked back at the road.

"I'm not."

"So, you're okay?"

She looked at Danny who caught her eye before facing forward once more. "I'm fine Danny, I promise. You remind me of Chin. He keeps asking me the same thing."

Danny shrugged, "We love you Kono. After all we're what you love to call, Ohana."

Kono chuckled, "Aww, look who's speaking the language."

"Shut up!" Danny tried to say sternly but couldn't help the smirk on his face from growing. It was always good to see her smile.

Moments later they pulled up to the location, one of the busiest street markets in Hawaii. Danny parked his car next to the blue pickup that belonged to McGarrett. Kono took a deep breath before getting out of the car, hoping that her boss was in a better mood. Catherine gave her a smile as she spotted her. Kono returned it as best as she could but it didn't reach her eyes. It's not that she didn't like Catherine, it's just that she felt like the woman was taking her place and it hurt. She had worked her ass off to make it in the male dominated team and someone else just comes in and as childish as it sounded, it wasn't fair. Especially when that someone was sleeping with the boss. The boss who was now talking to Danny and Chin, ever so often throwing a glance in her direction. Glances she noticed were annoyed ones.

She stopped next to Catherine, "What's going on? I thought we were supposed to be looking for Renard?"

"Steve's having the guys fill him in quick."

Kono nodded, "Okay, I'm gonna head in, see if I can spot him. Location on his cell says he's near the back somewhere, so I'll head that way."

Catherine lightly touched her arm making her stop. "Maybe we should wait for Steve, see what he says."

Kono shook her head, "It's just surveying. I can still do that!" a touch of annoyance in her voice. "You can come or wait for them. But I'm gonna do my job."

Catherine dropped her hand and looked back at the men. "Okay, you go left and I'll go right."

Kono nodded in thanks before the two women took off.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked as they passed. "To look for Renard," Kono replied as if it was obvious.

Steve narrowed his eyes slightly which Kono ignored as she continued her way. "Kono…" he called after her, but she chose to ignore him. She wasn't about to let him continue to treat her like a child. Catherine looked at Steve and shrugged before following the young Hawaiian. Steve sighed in annoyance before indicating for the others to follow. Chin quickly caught up to his cousin.

"If you wanna lecture me, save it. I got it all from the looks McGarrett kept sending me."

"Nope. Just wanna find Renard." Kono stopped and glanced at her cousin suspiciously. "I promise."

Shaking her head Kono looked around and spotted the blond Frenchman. Renard was sitting at a small table sipping a cup of coffee accompanied by a young female Caucasian with shoulder length black hair. They seemed to be deep in conversation. "I have eyes on Renard.," she nudged Chin. He nodded quickly placing a hand on his gun. Cautiously Kono and Chin made their way over, trying to blend in which was hard seeing as they were armed and badges were visible. A few feet from the table Renard looked up and spotted them. Jumping from his seat, he ran.

"Dammit!" Kono mumbled breaking into a run after him. Chin shouted to the others who took off as well. Danny headed for the Camaro, Steve chasing after Kono and the suspect. Three blocks later she lost sight of him. She drew her weapon and entered an alleyway to her left. Renard suddenly jumped out behind her and managed to grab her knocking her gun out of her hand. _"I will not panic,"_ she thought to herself feeling a familiar feeling creep up on her, one she had had back in Japan when Michael's men had attacked her. No, she was tougher than that. She took a breath before slamming her elbow into his gut, forcing him to loosen his hold, giving her the opportunity to turn and connect her fist with his jaw. He was forced to let go entirely and took a step back. A little winded, the man lunged at her causing her to throw punches in defence.

As Steve came around the corner he saw his rookie placing cuffs on Renard before roughly dragging him to his feet. As she turned and saw him, Steve noticed she had a bloody lip which made him mad, but it was her shoulder that drew his attention and that was what pissed him off. He frowned at the sight of the scar and it left an angry pit in his gut.

"What? Annoyed that I can handle myself? That I don't need your help?" she snapped assuming the look of anger was directed at her. He didn't speak but just continued to look at her. It was beginning to make her feel self-conscience, glancing around she noticed that her shoulder had been exposed during the scuffle. With her free hand, she quickly pulled her strap up covering the scar. Danny and Chin arrived and took Renard into custody. Danny looked at Steve curiously. Kono followed her cousin refusing to look at her boss and climbed into the car waiting for Danny to catch up.


	10. Chapter 9

Back at the office Steve and Kono waited for Danny and Chin to get some answers from Renard. During that time Kono noticed how Steve kept looking at her like he wanted to say something. It was beginning to annoy her. She just wished things could go back to the way they were before she had left. After what felt like the hundredth time he glanced at her, Kono had had enough. She got up from the table and made her way to the locker room. With a sigh she went straight to the basin and splashed some water on her face. She heard the door close and looked up. Leaning against the door, arms folded, watching her was McGarrett.

Closing her eyes briefly she turned to him, "What?" she asked not even bothering to hide the irritation in her voice.

"What happened?" he asked still looking at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

She shrugged, "Not sure I know what you are talking about."

"Don't play dumb Kono. I saw your shoulder. What happened?" he asked again.

"Nothing!" she snapped.

"Kono," he pushed off the wall and approached her. "Tell me."

"I'm sorry, is that a question or an order Commander?"

Steve stopped right in front of her, close enough that she could smell his aftershave and feel the tension radiating off him. Instinctively Kono moved back feeling her back hit the sink.

"I'm not here to fight with you Kono. I'm worried."

She scoffed, "Please don't try to pretend you care."

"I do."

"Since when?" Kono was sceptical about his sudden change of attitude towards her.

Steve's eyes flashed like he was hurt that she thought that. "Kono."

She held up her hand. "Just drop it. It's none of your business. You act like I'm in the way, that I'm not capable of doing my job. And now you want to pretend to care?" Kono shook her head and moved passed him, wanting to get out of there. As she reached the door she felt him grab her hand and spin her around. What happened next surprised and shook her. Steve pulled her forward and grabbed her by the waist crashing his lips onto hers. He was kissing her. It was so much better then she had imagined, so much so that she felt herself responding. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he ran his hands along her waist. She gasped as his hand skimmed the piece of her skin between her shirt and pants. Steve took that opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth causing her to moan in pleasure. It was only once he had pushed her against the wall, lips attaching themselves to her neck that she came back to her senses. She pushed him back in shock.

"Kono," he tried to reach for her but she shook her head. She quickly made her way out of the locker room and to her office, ignoring all the looks the rest of the team threw into her direction. Danny narrowed his eyes figuring that their fearless leader had once again started an argument with the rookie. He was about to say something to his partner when Steve joined them, but something about Steve's behaviour told him to drop it, at least for now.

"Did Renard say anything?" he asked Chin and Danny glancing at his rookie who had her head down.

"Renard says he was Keoihle's supplier. That he had been meeting Keoihle the day he was killed. But he maintains it wasn't him," Chin replied.

"What about the prints at Keoihle's house"

"He said he had been there at the house to drop off some of the merchandise."

Steve rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "But," Danny added. "He saw the car that killed Keoihle and he got the license plate."

"Great, let's find the owner." Steve really needed to catch a break in this case.

The computer beeped signalling a match. "Mike Lawson, thirty-five. Matches the description from our second eye witness," Chin replied.

"Do we have an address?" Steve asked. Chin nodded. "Great, let's gear up and take the son of a bitch down. Danny and I will go to his house. Chin grab Catherine and head to his work, see if he is there.

Chin nodded taking out his phone and calling Catherine while heading out. Danny turned to his partner. "What about Kono?"

"We can manage."

"Steve," Danny began. "We can use her. You can't stop her from doing her job."

"Fine," Steve replied walking over to her office. He leaned in, causing her to look up. "We have a suspect. Danny and I are headed to his house. You coming?"

Kono didn't need to be asked twice. She got up and headed towards he door. She stopped, waiting for him to move, he hesitated, wanting to touch her, wanting her to look at him but he mentally shook his head and backed away heading out the building followed by the two remaining members of five o.

Danny could feel the tension in the car and it was almost suffocating. He kept glancing at his two team mates and could see that Steve kept glancing at the rookie through the mirror. Kono, he noticed refused to even acknowledge the former seal. Whatever had transpired between them had clearly had an impact. As soon as this case was over Danny knew he had to get to the bottom of it. Thankfully they arrived at Lawson's house. Each of them put on a vest and drew their weapons. Steve indicated to Danny to take the back as he and Kono approached the front. Steve knocked on the door. "Mike Lawson, this is five o." After receiving no response Kono checked the handle and found it locked. Steve held up three fingers and slowly counted down. On 0 he kicked the door open and he and Kono rushed inside. Each of them calling out "Clear" as they searched the house meeting up with Danny in the kitchen. "He's not here," Danny remarked holstering his gun.

"Let's check out the house for anything. I'm gonna see if Chin and Catherine have any more luck." Both Kono and Danny nodded as Steve stepped away pulling out his phone. Kono and Danny started to look around, Kono noticed in the back bedroom that the floor seemed to feel different. Kneeling she pulled back the carpet and found a trap door. She pulled it open to find some steps that led under the house. Pulling out a flash light Kono made her way down. Steve meanwhile had finally managed to get Catherine on the line. He heard some commotion over the phone. "Cath, what's going on?"

"We found Lawson, but he isn't coming quietly." Steve heard what sounded like gun fire. "Dammit, he took hostages. Three maybe four of his co-workers."

"Okay we're on our way. Just be careful."

"We'll try."

"Danny," Steve called as his partner walked into the room. "Catherine and Chin are taking fire. Lawson took hostages. We need to go."

"Let's go."

Both men rushed out of the house and into the car, speeding off. Neither of them noticing that their rookie wasn't with them.


	11. Chapter 10

It smelt damp down there and it was dark. After what felt like for ever, Kono finally came out the other side into a room. She covered her mouth and nose to keep from gagging. Laying on a bed was the remains of a woman who had been dead for some time. It looks like Lawson had built a shrine around the body. She pulled out her phone knowing that the others would want to see this and wouldn't hear her down here. But she had no signal. Putting her phone back in her pocket she turned and headed back through the tunnel. "McGarrett, Danny, you guys need to see this," she called as she stepped back into the house. Hearing nothing from the two, she walked through the rest of the house but they were nowhere to be seen. "Steve? Danny?" She looked out the front door and saw that the Camaro was gone. "They left? Well that's fantastic!" she mumbled feeling angry and hurt, unsure why they had left her behind. She pulled out her phone once more and called Max.

Steve and Danny arrived just as Chin was talking to Duke. "Everything okay?" Danny asked as Steve looked on.

"Yeah, Lawson shot himself."

"Is he…?" Steve began.

"Dead? No but he is critical."

"Did he say anything?"

"Something about the damn tourists trying to hurt Claire."

"Who's Claire?"

"His girlfriend, well dead girlfriend to be exact," Catherine said as she joined them. "One of his colleagues told me that Claire had been killed in an accident six months ago. A young couple who were in Hawaii on holiday from the mainland had knocked her over while she was out riding her bike."

"Well that would explain his anger towards tourists," Danny added.

"We'll get Kono to see if she can find a connection between Lawson and Keoihle." Chin pulled out his phone.

"Dammit," Steve groaned.

"What?" Catherine asked.

"We forgot Kono, she's still at Lawson's house."

"Crap," Danny replied.

"You left her there? Did you at least tell her?"

Steve shook his head, "Kind of forgot about her. I better head back."

Danny gave them a quick look before running to catch up.

Holding the handle of the door tightly Danny asked the question that had been bothering him for a while. "Okay what happened?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you and Kono have been acting, she refuses to look at you and you won't stop looking at her with this guilty, confused look. Now I know things have been tense and awkward between you two but something else is going on Steve."

Steve sighed, "I kissed her."

"What!?" Danny shrieked.

"I know what you are going to say. That I'm an animal, that I'm crazy. And I know that I am but it just happened."

"What the hell do you mean, 'it just happened'? Danny couldn't believe it. Steve 'Super Navy Seal Ninja' McGarrett who was a loyal, honest guy made a move on his rookie. Not that Danny wasn't secretly happy about it. He had from the first time they met, felt that Steve and Kono had a special connection. He shipped 'Mckono' hard. But then things changed when Steve introduced them to Catherine and Kono met Adam.

"She got hurt," Steve replied breaking Danny from his thoughts.

"When did that happen?"

"I'm not sure but I think it happened when she was in Japan. The scar looked old."

"Did she say how she got it?"

"No, she just snapped at me saying that I didn't care about her and I just…"

"Wanted her to see that you do."

Steve nodded, "What am I supposed to do Danny?"

"Do you have feelings for her?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"Well you need to figure it out before you lose her forever."

As the two men arrived back at Lawson's house, they were surprised to see Max and a few HPD cars. Steve shared a look with his partner whose expression mirrored his own. Both men quickly climbed out of the car and approached the coroner. "Max, what's going on Buddy?"

"Afternoon Commander, Detective." Max replied pulling off his gloves. "Got a call from Kono about a body she found."

"Body?" Danny asked as he noticed Steve looking around.

"Yes. It appears Mr Lawson was keeping his girlfriend's body down under the house."

"Wait, where did you find the body? We did a search of the house." Danny asked just as Steve asked, "Where's Kono?"

Max looked between the two before answering the blond detective first. "Kono found a trap door in the back bedroom. It led to an underground room where it appears Lawson created a shrine to his dead lover. As for Kono, she left a few minutes ago. Asked one of the patrol men to give her a lift to Five O."

Steve sighed, "Thanks Max. You good here?"

The bespectacled Doctor nodded before heading over to his car.

"How pissed do you think she is?"

Steve shrugged, "With you? Low to mild. Me though? I don't think the scale goes that high." Steve felt terrible, he had forgotten her at a scene and given the fact that he had been a dick ever since she got home, it's no wonder she wouldn't look at him.

"Come on, let's go see if we can grovel hard enough that she forgives us." Danny said pulling him out of his thoughts. Steve just nodded before getting into the car.


	12. Chapter 11

Kono arrived back at the office a few minutes ago and was currently pouring herself some coffee when she heard footsteps approaching and Catherine's voice. She was talking to Chin. "Completely unbelievable."

"Tell me about it. How do you just forget someone at a scene?"

" _So, they had forgotten about me,"_ she thought. Kono leaned against the wall wanting to hear if they said anything else.

"Well I suppose in their defence, we did have to work without her for four months. Maybe they just got into the habit of her not being there," Catherine was trying to sound convincing.

"I guess. But still, she's been back for two weeks already," Chin replied making Kono proud that her cousin was still looking out for her. Kono heard two male voices as Steve and Danny walked in.

"Anyone seen Kono?" Steve's voice sounded slightly annoyed. Kono wasn't sure if it was because of her or if he was mad at himself.

"Haven't seen her yet," Chin remarked. "I can't believe you left her behind."

"Come on Chin, it was an honest mistake. You know," Steve said turning to his partner, "this would have never happened if we had gone on our own like I wanted to."

"So, this is my fault you didn't remember your rookie?" Danny sounded outraged.

"You forgot her too Danno," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah well, look it's not like I haven't got used to going out there without her," Danny countered.

Kono felt her heart drop and suppressed a gasp.

"Look guys, we just need to get used to having her back. She's a part of this team, we need to remember that."

She heard everyone agree with Steve but it didn't make her feel any better. Things were different now, had been since she got back and she had been naïve to think that she could just come back and everything would be okay.

"I have to meet a friend. I'll be back later." Kono heard Catherine leave as her shoes clipped across the floor.

"I have to return a call. Excuse me," Chin replied before he too left leaving the two men standing there. Kono wanted to leave but the only way out meant they would see her and she wasn't ready for that. She also knew that she couldn't just stay there, at some point someone was going to want coffee.

"Steve, what's going on in your head?" Danny asked.

She heard Steve take a breath. "I don't know what to do. Part of me feels that things would be easier if she hadn't come back. We wouldn't have forgotten her, I wouldn't have spent so much time having to watch her back. My feelings wouldn't be all over the place."

Kono couldn't stop the silent tears from falling. He didn't want her here, she was complicating his life.

"Danno I don't know what to do."

"Come on, I'm buying the first round. Let's see if Chin wants to come."

"Hey Chin, you want to grab some drinks?" Danny asked popping his head through the door.

The older man nodded. "Before we go I asked Duke to consider Lawson and Keoihle, see what the connection was. With everything going on with Kono I thought HPD could handle it."

"Did they find anything?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, turns out Keoihle was Claire Danvers' nephew. She and Lawson were the only family he had other than his grandmother."

"Now we know. Let's get out of here. It's been a long couple of days."

Kono waited till she knew that the three men had left before coming out of the break room. She headed straight for the supply room and picked up a box then headed for her former office. She began to pack up her things. When she looked up for a second, she spotted a young man walking into the office accompanied by an HPD officer, she placed the box under her desk and went out.

"Officer Kalakaua, this is Jeremy Michaels, Selena Michaels' brother."

Kono looked at the young man. "Hello Jeremy, I'm Kono. I am really sorry for your loss."

The young man looked back at her with a tired, sad filled expression. "Thank you. I was hoping you could tell me how the case is going."

Kono frowned, "Did HPD not get hold of you?"

He shook his head, "I just landed. Haven't checked my phone. To be honest, I don't really want to. Keep getting calls from people."

Kono nodded in understanding. "Well Jeremy, we caught the men responsible."

"You did?" he sighed in relief.

"Yes, little over an hour ago."

Kono saw tears fill the young man's eyes. He hugged her suddenly shocking her in a good way. "Thank you for finding them." Something seemed a little off and she asked him what was wrong. "I just thought it would be easier knowing their killer can't hurt anyone else. But he still took my sister from me. He still took my boy…." he caught himself. "My sister's boyfriend from his family."

Kono remembered something which clicked. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "How long were you and George together?"

Seeing no sign of judgement on her face, Jeremy opened up to her. "Two and a half years. Selena was the only one who knew about us. She and George would pretend to be a couple around my parents. They're not as accepting as you would think. I was supposed to meet them here on Friday with Selena's real boyfriend Todd but I got delayed in Iraq."

"You're a soldier?"

He nodded, "George and I fought the last time I talked to him. He wanted me to come clean to my parents when I got back but I wasn't ready. So, Selena suggested we take this trip and enjoy ourselves, let me gain some confidence before telling them. It's my fault they are dead. If I had just done the right thing. I can face terrorist but I can't tell my parents I'm gay."

Kono stopped him, "This is not your fault Jeremy. Sometimes we are afraid to share our secrets, to share our feelings but that doesn't make us bad people. It makes us human. George and Selena, I'm sure knew that. They wanted to be here for you because they loved you. It's not fair to judge yourself."

He nodded sadly,  
"Thank you Officer Kalakaua."

"Anytime." He hugged her again before heading out, stopping at the door when she called him back. "A little advice, talk to your parents, honour the love that you and George shared. If they can't accept you then it's their loss. Just be true to yourself."

"I will."

Kono watched him leave hoping he would be okay. She glanced at her office once before deciding to go home. This day had been depressing in more ways than one.

That night as she sat at her desk at home Kono thought long and hard about her decision, she looked down at the letter in front of her hoping she hadn't left anything out. Satisfied, she placed it in an envelope and wrote down a single name. She had just finished when she heard a knock on her door. Stretching she slowly made her way to the door, figuring it was Chin. She opened the door to find Steve McGarrett standing there. Without a word Kono tried to close the door but Steve quickly stopped it with his hand.

"Kono we need to talk."

"I don't want to talk. Please leave."

"Kono, I'm not leaving until you hear me out. Please?"

Kono shook her head and walked towards the kitchen, leaving him to follow. She heard him close the door. She pulled out a beer from the fridge and sat down, trying hard to ignore his presence which was hard given the fact that the sight of him would set her heart racing. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him take a seat across from her. "Will you at least look at me?"

Taking a deep breath, she looked at him. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry."

"Okay, see you in the morning." She got up and headed towards the stairs. "I assume you can see yourself out." Just as she reached the first step Steve stopped her.

"I shouldn't have kissed you and I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it but I shouldn't have."

She turned around to find him standing just feet from her causing her to catch her breath. She took a step back up the stairs trying to distance herself from him but for some reason for each step she took back, he took one forward.

"Glad we cleared the air. Now please, go home Steve. I'm tired." She refused to look at him and let him see her cry. She made her way upstairs to her bedroom and closed the door. She heard the front door close which was when she let the tears fall.


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue: The Next Morning**

Sitting down at the kitchen table Steve was exhausted. He had barely gotten any sleep last night, his mind running a mile a minute. All he could think about was Kono. Steve smiled softly as Catherine walked into the room, dressed only in one of his shirts. Before, the sight alone would get his heart racing causing him to take her back to bed, but for a while now, he stopped feeling that way. Catherine had begun to notice. "You okay Steve?" she asked sitting across from him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You barely slept last night."

"I kept you awake?" She nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm just worried about Kono."

She looked at him, understanding in her eyes. "Have you spoken to her?"

"I tried but she won't give me a chance. She is so damn stubborn!" Catherine actually laughed. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Remind you of someone?"

"Ha, ha," he mumbled sarcastically.

"You know, you should tell her how you feel."

"What? Kono and I are just friends Catherine. She knows that Cath."

Catherine smiled sadly. "We both know you care about her more than just as a friend."

"Catherine, I honestly don't see her as anything more."

"It's okay Steve. You know as well as I do that being just friends is not an option anymore. You have feelings for her." The look on Catherine's face told him she understood and no matter how painful it was for her, she knew the truth.

He decided it was time to be honest not only with her but himself as well. "I don't know for sure what I feel, but I do know that when she left I couldn't stop worrying about her, if she was okay. I constantly wanted to know if she was alive. Then she came back and I just wanted her to be safe."

"You love her." It wasn't a question.

"I think I might be."

"Then tell her before it's too late. Before you push her away."

"Catherine, I'm sorry."

She shook her head with a sad smile. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You and I both know that this," she indicated the two of them. "wasn't going to last forever. I miss the Navy. It's my home. Five O is yours. And we can't help who we fall in love with."

"So, what do we do now?" he asked.

"A friend of mine works in Napel with a charity agency providing relief and supplies to people in need. She says they could use some help. I'm gonna give her a call. Maybe I can be of some help."

"So, you wanna leave?"

"Like I said this is your home. I'm gonna miss you and everyone but it's time to move on. I need to find my place in the world now that I'm not with the Navy anymore. We need to go on with our lives and be happy. I want you to be happy." She got up and walked over to him to kiss his cheek lightly. "Please consider this my resignation."

"I'm gonna miss you Cath."

"You too sailor." She stopped by the door and looked at him one final time. "Go get your girl Commander."

This time he didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing his keys Steve raced out the door.

Steve walked into headquarters feeling like he had the world on his shoulders. He had just spent the last five minutes trying to get hold of Kono but she had not been home. He was hoping he would catch her at work. When he walked in he didn't see her anywhere. "Hey Danny, you seen Kono?"

His partner shook his head, "Not since yesterday. Why? What's up?"

"Just want to talk to her. How's Grace? Thought you were supposed to be going to her cheerleading thing?"

"Oh, I was but according to Grace, she thinks I'll embarrass her."

"Can't say I disagree." Steve smirked at the angry glare Danny sent him.

"Really? One pissed off team mate not enough for you?"

Steve shrugged, "What can I say? Aren't you always the one calling me a Neanderthal?"

Danny just shook his head and muttered something along the lines of "Whatever."

Heading into his office with a chuckle, Steve sat down and noticed an envelope with his name on in Kono's hand writing. He grabbed it and quickly tore it open.

" _Boss…. wow, I thought this would be easier. I'm not even sure where to begin. Five O always felt like home, the one place I knew I belonged. Where I could be myself and not have people judge me or think that I can't do the job because I'm a woman. But when I made the choice to go with Adam; a choice I would soon regret; something changed. I suppose that's to be expected when I was gone for four months. Those months were not easy believe me. Adam left me. Just days after arriving in Japan, he ran off leaving me to defend myself against Michael's men. And I would rather face down against a serial killer or a mad man than ever go through what happened in those four months again. If I could go back and change things, I would never get on that boat, I would have never left with Adam. You want to know something? I sort of hoped you would have stopped me from leaving. Part of me prayed that night that you would say, stay. I wanted you to make me stay. You see even though I loved Adam, my heart never belonged to him. It already belonged to someone else. YOU. I knew I was screwed the moment I met you on the beach that day over four years ago. You were unlike any person I had ever met. You never treated me differently, like I was the weak link because of my gender. You treated me as an equal. And every day I worked with you, I found myself falling more and more for you. But I digress. The reason for my letter is to say goodbye. I already said that Five O was my home, but I no longer feel that way. I feel like I have become a burden to the team, that I have just gotten in the way of your new dynamic that you built up. I just no longer fit in the team, you don't need me anymore, not now that you have Catherine. She's a great asset to the team and I have a feeling you guys will be unstoppable. And then there is, you. I fell for you hard and I thought being with Adam would be a good way of moving on, moving forward. You were not only my boss and friend but you had Catherine who has become like a sister to me. You guys are good together and I would never want to get in the way of that. I don't want to be that girl, the one who pines over a man she can't be with. I don't want things to be awkward. When I came back I was so happy to finally get to see all of you again. Especially you. But you wouldn't let me do anything, like you lost your trust in me, that I had lost your respect by choosing Adam and not the team. That hurts more than any torture in the world. Your opinion of me means more than it should but I can't help how I feel. I have been feeling like a fifth wheel for a while but I had hoped things would get better, that if I tried hard enough things would go back to the way it was. And then you left me at Lawson's house and I guess that was the last straw. You have gotten so used to me not being on the team, so I guess it will be easier now for all of you to go back to that. I don't want you guys to try and change my mind. This is something I have to do. I need to distance myself from you. Please know that I appreciate everything you have taught me. I am a better person for it and I know that I would not have survived Japan without it. I'll cherise all the memories we've shared at Five O and I'll never forget all the good times. But it's time to move on. Time for me to find my own way, to find myself again, something I lost when I met Adam. I'll miss you more than any of you can imagine. Just promise that you will be careful out there and not go all Super Ninja all the time. You are already a hero. And please watch Chin's back, he's my Ohana just as Danny, Catherine, Lou and you are. Take care Steve. Aloha Malamo Pono." Kono_

Steve stood up so quickly that his desk moved causing several of the items to fall over. Danny heard the sound and rushed out his office just as Steve ran out almost knocking him over in his haste. "Steve what's the matter?" he asked seeing a look of panic and sheer fear on his face.

Steve silently handed him Kono's letter and left. He had to find her and change her mind.

Having spent most of the day at the beach enjoying the calming effect of the waves Kono finally climbed into her car and headed home. She had deliberatively picked the furthest beach from her house and left her phone behind so the rest of the team couldn't track her. She knew they would have found her letter by now. Even if the rest of the team didn't need her anymore she knew that Chin wouldn't accept it. He always had her back no matter what. Today was about letting go and relaxation. She knew tomorrow was going to be a new start. She had to plan for her future, a future that no longer included Five O or Steve McGarrett. Pulling into her drive way about an hour later, she spotted a blue pickup that she knew belonged to her now former boss. She didn't see him and decided she would just head inside. If he knocked she would just ignore it. She had after all asked him not to come. She quickly grabbed her keys and headed inside. Closing the door, she made sure to lock it behind her before putting down her bag and heading for the kitchen. She pulled out a bottle of water and took a long sip.

"You're avoiding me."

Kono jumped in surprise, dropping the bottle to the ground. Leaning against the door frame, looking at her was Steve. She knew she had locked the door which meant he had already been in the house before she got there. "So, what, being a cop isn't rewarding enough you have to resort to breaking and entering?" she asked sarcastically picking up the now empty bottle and beginning to clean up the mess.

He pulled out his keys, "We all have spares for each other's houses in case of emergencies."

"Yeah, emergencies. Don't think scaring the hell out of me constitutes an emergency. So, you can see yourself out."

Kono turned her back on him and threw the bottle into the trash. Steve didn't say anything, he just pushed away from the door and moved closer to her. When she turned back around, she bumped into him. "I thought I asked you to leave," she said taking a step back. "I'm fine, there is no emergency."

Steve took a step forward effectively trapping her between the wall and his body. "There is an emergency if it means I'm gonna lose you."

Kono looked up at his eyes seeing a similar look in them that she had seen that day in the locker room when he had kissed her. The thought alone caused a sensation in her stomach. Being so close to him wasn't helping matters. She hesitantly put her hands on his chest and tried to push him away trying to create some distance between them. Steve grabbed her hands with one of his own, stopping her. "You had your say, now it's my turn."

"Could…. could you at least back up so I'm not stuck here?"

Steve looked at her, "You won't try to leave?" She nodded. "Okay." He let go of her hands and stepped back allowing her to slip past him. she stood by the counter far from him and crossed her arms waiting. "I know I haven't been the easiest person to deal with since you got back."

"I think the word dick comes to mind."

Steve sighed, "No argument there. But Kono I need you to understand where I'm coming from. You were gone for four months. I didn't know if you were okay, if you were even alive. Those four months were hard for all of us."

"And what do you think it was like for me? You have no idea what I went through over there," she snapped. "You all seem to think that I had an easy time in Japan. Do you think it was easy for me being tortured by that son of a bitch Michael, who was looking for Adam? I told you in my letter that Adam left me the first chance he got." Steve still couldn't believe that Adam had left her all alone, it still pissed him off. She could feel the anger radiating off him. "Easy soldier, I don't need you to be my hero."

"He got you hurt Kono," Steve growled as he looked at her shoulder.

"And I dealt with it. So please get back to your point so I can get on with things."

"After you left I realized how much I missed you. Not just how badass you are, but how much your laugh makes me happy. How your smile brightens my day. I realized that I looked forward to coming to work in the mornings because it meant I got to see you. For four months I didn't have that. All I had was this constant feeling that something was missing and you were. When you came back I was so happy."

"Nice way to show it."

"I admit I didn't handle things well. I just…I guess I was scared."

"Scared? Of what?"

"That you would get hurt and that I would lose you again. That either you'd realise that this job wasn't what you wanted anymore or worse, that some bad guy would take you from me."

"I don't understand."

"Kono," he stepped towards her and placed a hand against her cheek. "You're not the only one who feels something."

"What?" she whispered as she looked at him in surprise.

"I have always felt this connection with you. I've always thought how beautiful you are. How you make me feel like I can do anything. How you make my heart beat fast or how just your smile can make me weak in the knees. I just didn't realise how much I cared about you till you told me you were leaving with Adam. I wanted so bad to tell you to stay but I couldn't, you loved Adam. Today I realised something important though."

"Which is what?"

"I'm in love with you Kono Kalakaua."

Kono stopped breathing for a second as Steve brought his lips against hers. At first, she didn't respond, in too much of a shock at his words. But she finally responded just as he was about to pull away. She kissed him with everything she had. Steve grabbed her by the hips and lifted her so she was sitting on the counter and he moved till he was between her legs. They pulled apart when air became a necessity. He began to trail kisses along her jaw. As much as she was enjoying the sensation, she knew they couldn't do this. He was after all with Catherine. "Steve," she gently pushed him away. He stopped his exploration and looked at her, hands still holding her thighs, warming her skin in more ways than one. "Catherine."

He shook his head, "We broke up."

"Why?"

"She knew I loved you before I did. Kono I don't want to rush anything but I do know that I would really like to see where this thing between us can go. I want to be with you. "

"I love you too Steve. I wanna do this too."

He smiled widely, "Kono Kalakaua, would you have dinner with me tonight?"

She returned the smile, a smile that finally reached her eyes. "I would love to."

He swooped in for another kiss. "By the way, I reject your resignation," he said between kisses. "I expect you at the office in the morning."

"Yes sir, bright and early."

"Good." He kissed her once more before stepping back. "I'll be back in an hour. You get ready."

"You know, we could always order in." She jumped off the counter and stepped closer to him placing a kiss on his jaw.

"As tempting as that is, believe me it is, I want to do this right."

She nodded, "Okay, go. I need to change."

He kissed her one final time before heading out the door with a big smile. As Kono made her way up stairs she couldn't help the huge smile on her face. Things had changed in four months but she never thought that change could be this good. No matter how much she had suffered because of the Noshimuri men she was finally back where she belonged. With her Ohana and most importantly with the man she loved. Life was never better.

 **The End.**


End file.
